Device for indicating thread breakage particularly in spinning machines



May 12, 1964 G. PREISSER 3,132,466 DEVICE FOR INDICATING THREAD BREAKAGEPARTICULARLY IN SPINNING MACHINES Filed June 20, 1960 3 Sheets-Sheet 1G. PREISSER May 12, 1964 DEVICE FOR INDICATING THREAD BREAKAGEPARTICULARLY IN SPINNING MACHINES 3 Sheets-Sneet 2 Filed June 20, 1960May 12, 1 G. PREISSER 3,132,465

DEVICE FOR INDICATING THREAD BREAKAGE PARTICULARLY IN SPINNING MACHINES5 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed June 20, 1960 N 58/ 2e 5e i 33 64 United StatesPatent 3,132,466 DEVICE FQR INDICATING THREAD BREAKAGE PARTICULARLY INSPINNING MACHINES Giinther Preisser, 102 Bismarckstrasse,Monchen-Gladbach, Germany Filed June 20, 196i), Ser. No. 37,189 Claimspriority, application Germany June 29, 1959 8 Claims. (Cl. 57-81) It isknown to provide weaving and knitting looms as well as twisters withthread breakage indicators to indicate the breakage of a thread.

Whereas a thread or yarn used in such textile machines has a relativelyhigh strength, which enables the exercise on the thread of those forces,in addition to the thread tension, which are inevitably involved in thescanning of the thread by the feeler of the thread breakage indicator,diiierent conditions are encountered in spinning machines and precludethe use of thread breakage indicators of the usual kind. In this case itis not a thread in the usual sense which breaks but the material to bespun, which emerges from the feed rollers and consists of weak and veryweak individual hairs and hairlets, which must be twisted by the spindlein order to be converted into a thread.

The thread breakage indicator proposed to solve this problem ischaracterized according to the invention in that a thread eye memberassociated as a thread guide with a spindle has at least one part whichparticipates in the formation of the eye and which is movably arrangedand directly engaged by the tensioned thread and positively held therebyin one of its two limiting positions, whereas in the other of saidpositions a thread breakage indicating means is operated, the hearing orguide for the movable part lying in the space which is defined by twosuccessive spindle axes. This is the space between two parallelimaginary planes, each of which contains a spindle axis and which are atright angles to an imaginary plane containing both spindle axes.

In order to ensure in a simple manner that the bearing or guide of themovable part of the thread breakage indicator lies in the space definedby the spindle axes in order to provide long lever arms which result inthe required contact pressures owing to the above-mentioned, adequatetorque in spite of small forces acting on the movable eye part or on theeye member, a housing in which the levers are mounted and in whichcontact pieces are accommodated is arranged in said space. This has theadvantage that the housing can be designed as a dusttight case, whichencloses the bearings for the levers and the contact pieces. Since thereis a strong formation of dust in the spinning rooms so that insulatinglayers which would disturb a perfect indication may form on the contactpieces, the shielding against dust is of special importance. The housingmay also be provided with the visual means for indicating threadbreakage, e.g., in the form of an incandescent bulb arranged on an endwall.

Whereas the new thread breakage indicator has been hereinafter describedas being used with spinning machines because the said special conditionsare encountered here, this does not mean, of course, that the devicewhich has been provided can be used only in conjunction with spinningmachines. With other textile machines it is also desirable to avoid anundue increase in the load on the thread by the breakage indicators sothat the proposed thread breakage indicator can be used withparticularly good results also with weaving and knitting looms and withtwisters.

The drawing shows illustrative embodiments of thread breakage indicatorsaccording to the invention.

FIG. 1 is a longitudinal sectional view taken on line I-I of FIG. 2 andshowing a housing with the base housing adjoining the same. I

FIG. 2 is a horizontal longitudinal sectional view taken on line II-IIof FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a vertical transverse sectional view taken on line III-III ofFIG. 1 and FIG. 4 is a vertical transverse sectional view taken on lineIVIV of FIG. 1.

FIG. 5 is a side view of the upwardly swung housing and FIG. 6 is a topposition.

FIG. 7 shows the relation of a thread breakage indicator constructedaccording to the FIGS. 1 to 6 to the associated spindle.

FIG. 8 shows the same relation for a machine, in which the strand beingspun lies in the spindle axis.

FIG. 9 shows a modification of the eye member shown in FIG. 10.

FIG. 10 shows the arrangement and construction of the thread breakageindicator under the conditions illustrated in FIG. 8 with an eye memberwhich is movable in its entirety.

FIG. 11 shows a thread breakage indicator according to FIGS. 1 to 6 inswung-up position.

FIG. 12 shows the arrangement of a number of thread breakage indicatorsdisposed one beside the other.

The construction of the thread breakage indicator according to FIGS. 1to 6 will be described first.

FIGS. 2 to 6 indicate first the combined guide and feeler means orthread eye member 1, which is associated as a thread guide with aspindle, and in which a part 2, which participates in forming the eye,is movably arranged by forming an arcuate portion of the elongated lever3, which is suspended for oscillation about the pivot 4. The other.arcuate member 5 participating in the formation of the eye is formed bythe stationary lever 6, which is stronger than the lever 3 and, as isparticularly indicated in FIG. 3, lies below the movable lever 3 toprotect the same against upwardly directed shocks or impacts which maybe due to the need for a relatively rapid replacement of the bobbinsdisposed below the device shown so that uncontrolled movements result,which might have a detrimental infiuence on the levers 3.

For a dust-tight accommodation of the contact parts connected to themovable lever 3 and of the other contact parts, as is desired accordingto the invention, the following means are provided.

A first component housing 7 obtained by a division of the overallhousing accommodates the contact parts to be specified hereinafter aswell as part of the bearing means for the pivot 4 of the movableeye-forming lever 3. A second component housing is provided at 8 andcloses the bottom in the component housing 7. As is particularlyindicated in FIG. 4 the component housing 8 accommodates the slot 9through which the levers 3 and 6 extend into the chamber of housing 8.These slots can hardly be sealed, particularly because considerationmust be given not only to the pivotal movement of the lever 3 but alsoto adjustments required for matching the thread breakage indicator tothe space conditions present in each case. For this reason the lever 6is not rigidly secured in the component housing 8 but is held therein bymeans of the clamping screw 10. The lever 6 is supported by an abutmentformed by the lower end wall 11 of the first component housing 7. Theclamp joint 10, 12 enables a fixation of the lever 6 with any desiredangularity with respect to the longitudinal direction of the housing.For the same reason the end of the lever 3 is aflixed in the clampingplan view of the housing in operative yoke 13, which can be pulledagainst the pivot 4 with the aidof the headless screw 14 so that the endof the lever 3 can be given any desired angularity with respect to thepivot 4. With this arrangement the lower end wall of the componenthousing '7 can be designed with bores so that only the rotary parts 4,149 must pass therethrough. For instance, simple round seals aresufiicient to effect a dust-tight seal of the interior of the componenthousing 7 towards the outside. The lock nut 16 associated with the clampscrew 10 has a similar efiect. The pivot 4 is mounted on the bearingball 17, which is accommodated in the bridge 18 of the cheek 19, whichtogether with the opposite cheek 20 forms the lateral boundaries of thecomponent housing 8. The cheeks 19, 20 have grooves 21, in which theflexible tongue 22 is guided, which seals the component housing 8 at thebottom to form a chamber therein. The pivot 4 has a reduced portion 23,which carries the pin 24.

If the pivot 4 is rotated in the counterclockwise sense as viewed inFIG. 2, the pin 24 can deform a biasing means or contact spring 25, theend of which is firmly connected to the component housing 7 at 26, sothat the contact tip 27 is lifted from the contact plate 28. This willopen a circuit including the incandescent bulb 29, which is disposed onthe free end face of the housing part 7 and held at 30. The upper andlower walls of the housing 7 terminate in rail projections (unnumberedin FIGS. 1 and 2) which cover the incandescent bulb 29 in the verticaldirection on opposed surfaces. This position of the pin 24 and of thepivot 4 connected thereto corresponds tothe operating position of themovable lever 3 with the eye-forming arcuate portion 2, in whichposition the thread guided in the eye 1 exerts on the arcuate part 2 aforce which is directed to the right as viewed in FIG. 2

and which produces a torque which owing to the leverage resulting fromthe different lengths of the parts 3, 24 is sufficient to reliably liftthe contact tip 27 from the contact plate 28 and to hold it lifted. Acontact strip 31 ensures the energization of the breakage indicatingmeans or incandescent bulb when this circuit is closed. The socket ofthe incandescent bulb 29 provides the second terminal, which isconnected to system ground, to which the negative potential is applied.The contact spring 25 is connected through the bulb 29, as showndiagrammatically in FIG. 2 by the broken lines which represent wireconductors or the like, to additional current-carrying parts 32, whichcarry the terminal contact plate 33. In accordance therewith the contactplate 28 engages currentcarrying parts 34, which are connected to thecontact plate 35. As is indicated in FIGS. 1 and 2, contact tongues 36,37 having contact tips 38, 39 are disposed opposite to the contactplates 33, 35. When the housing 7, 8 is swung upwardly as shown in FIG.5, the contact plates 33, will disengage the contact tips 38, 39 tointerrupt the circuit described hereinbefore irrespective of theengagement of the contact tip 27 with the contact plate 28, as is shownin FIG. 2, or the disengagement of said tip from said plate. In theposition shown in the drawing the tip will be in engagement because inFIG. 2 the lever 3 is in a position which results from the breakage ofthe thread passed through the eye member I. In this case the forceaction described hereinbefore, which is exerted by the pin 24 on thecontact spring 25, is discontinued and the spring 25 expands inaccordance with its resiliency so that the parts 27, 28 engage and saidcircuit is closed. Thus, the incandescent bulb 29 is illuminated. Inaccordance therewith the contact spring 25 produces the returning forceswhich in the case of a thread breakage ensure the return movement of thelever 3 from its operative position into the position shown in FIG. 2.The housing 7 forms a stop 40 for the pin 24, which stop limits therotation of the lever 3 in the counterclockwise sense as viewed in FIG.2 beyond the position in which the eye is formed. If the housing 7, '8is swung up in this condition about the hinge axis 41 (see FIGS. 5 and6), the incandescent bulb 29 will be extinguished after having performedits function to indicate the thread breakage. When the thread has againbeen threaded through the eye member 1, causing the contact tip 27 todisengage the contact plate 28 the swinging-down of the housing will notaffect the opening of the circuit 27, 28. The device has only been movedto its operative condition. In order to enable a most convenientenergization of thread breakage indicators arranged one beside theother, the contact tongue ea extends to the metal bushing 42 (see FIGS.1 and 2.), which serves to receive the contact screw 43. Being pointedat 44, the latter can penetrate the insulation of a lead -45 containingthe electric conductor 46, which is connected to the positive terminalof the source of current, not shown, or of the electric supply system.The negative terminal is connected to system ground, i.e., to themachine frame and the contact parts connected thereto. The lead v 45extends in the direction of the thread breakage indicators arranged onebeside the other so that the latter are connected to the electric supplyin the simple manner shown.

FIGS. 3 and 4 indicate that each of the component housings 7 and 8 islongitudinally divided. The parting line is indicated at 47. Thecomponent housings are held together by hollow rivets 48. If importanceis attached to the easy accessibility of the interior of the housing,the hollow rivets 48 may be replaced by screws. The same figuresindicate that the component housing 7 is formed like the ridge of a roofat 49 so that any dust tending to deposit will be deflected. For thesame reason, dust-deflecting housing wall projections 50, 51 areprovided above and below the passage slots 9 for the levers 3, 6. Thesehousing wall projections are formed like eaves so that the dust cannotdeposit at this point.

The contact tongues 36, 37 and the contact parts connected to them areaccommodated in the base housing 52 which is stationary and affixed,e.g., to a continuous rail, which forms a part of the rear wall or" themachine unless this rear wall itself is used as a support for the basehousing 52.

FIG. 7 shows the arrangement of the thread breakage indicator inrelation to the spindle, with which the eye member of the threadbreakage indicator is associated as a thread guide. This eye 2, 5 iscarried in the manner indicated in FIGS. 1 to 6 by the housing 7, 8,which is connected by the hinge 41 to the base housing 52. The rear wall53 of the machine is shown and has the base housing 52 secured thereto.The thread, sliver or strand 55 is supplied by feed rollers 57 andpasses through the eye formed. by parts 2 and 5. The balloon formed bythe thread is indicated at 56. The thread travels downwardly and isdeflected in the eye 2, 5 as shown.

FIG. 8 shows the same relations when the feed rollers 58 are disposed inthe axis of the spindle 54. As has already been explained with referenceto FIGS. 1 to 6, the thread balloon 56 formed during spinning exerts aforce action on the arcuate portion 2 (see FIG. 2) of the movable lever3 so that the latter is lifted from the contact plate 28 in theoperating position of the contact tip 27 and the incandescent bulb 29 isnot illuminated in the operating position of the contact tip 27. If aballoon 56 is not formed because the thread has broken, there will be nothread balloon action on the arcuate part 2 and the parts will assumethe position shown in FIG. 2, in which the thread breakage is indicatedby the illumination of the incandescent bulb 29.

Whereas the thread moves downwardly also in FIG. 8, this direction willbe inverted where two-for-one twisting spindles are employed and thethread is wound on a crosswound bobbin whereas the bend in the path ofthe thread shown in FIG. 7 will not be changed.

FIG. 9 shows a somewhat modified construction of the thread breakageindicator. The movable lever 59 forms now an arcuate part 60, which isopen towards the same side as the arcuate part 5 of the stationary lever6 whereas the formation of the eye 1 is not changed.

FIG. 10 shows a thread breakage indicator in which only a single movablelever 61 is provided, which is formed like the lever 3 of FIG. 2 and hasan arcuate part 62 twisted through 360 whereas the formation of the eye1 is not changed.

FIG. 11 is a diagrammatic representation of what has already been shownin FIG. 5.

FIG. 12 shows finally how several thread breakage indicators arelongitudinally aligned on the common rear Wall 53 of the machine.

Since the housings 7, 8 are disposed in the space 63 between twoparallel planes 64, which contain the axes of the spindles 54 (see FIGS.7 and 8), the movable lever 61 has a relatively large length so thatrelatively large torques about the pivot 4 (see FIG. 1) result in spiteof the fact that only small forces are exerted on the movable eye member62 or the movable eye part 2 participating in forming the eye (see FIG.2). These torques are transmitted to the pin 24, which reliably liftsthe contact spring 25, which is strongly dimensioned to ensure a goodcurrent transfer at 27, 28. Thus, this operating position can be assumedwithout difliculty. On the other hand, the contact spring 25 exertsstrong returning forces on the parts 24, 4, 3, 2 in the case of a threadbreakage so that the contacts 27, 28 reliably engage each other andcause the illumination of the incandescent bulb 29.

What is claimed is:

1. In textile machines such as spinning machines, twisters, or the like,having rotary spindles, a plurality of devices each comprising, incombination a thread eye member associated with one of said spindles, atleast a part of said thread eye member being movable and adapted toguide the thread, which is to be controlled as to breakage, relative tosaid spindle, said thread eye member constituting the sole means forguiding the thread, an energy storage means adapted to act on saidmovable part, said thread engaging said movable part and urging itduring winding of the thread on the spindle against the action of saidenergy storage means into a first limiting position in which the threadtension and the counteraction of the energy storage means balance eachother, thread breakage indicating means, said movable part consisting ofa lever, the center line of said lever extending approximately at rightangles to the axis of the appertaining spindle, said movable partadapted to move under the action of the energy storage means into asecond limiting position opposite to said first limiting position, inwhich the thread breakage indicating means is operated, in response tobreakage of the thread whereby said movable part acts as a threadbreakage feeler, said textile machines comprising a part which extendsthroughout the length of the machine, said part being adapted to carryjointly the devices associated with the spindles of said textilemachines, means adapted to vary the distance of said levers from saidpart of the textile machine or its angularity with respect to said partof the textile machine and to adjust said distance or angularity topredetermined values.

2. In textile machines such as spinning machines,

twisters, or the like, having rotary spindles, a device comprising, incombination a thread eye member associated with one of said spindles, atleast a part of said thread eye member being movable and adapted toguide the thread, which is to be controlled as to breakage, relative tosaid spindle, said thread eye member constituting the sole means forguiding the thread, an energy storage means adapted to act on saidmovable part, said thread engaging said movable part and urging itduring winding of the thread on the spindle against the action of saidenergy storage means into a limiting position in which the threadtension and the counteraction of the energy storage means balance eachother, thread breakage indicating means actuated by said movable partupon breakage of the guided thread whereby said movable part acts as athread breakage feeler, said textile machines comprising a part whichextends throughout the length of the machine, said part being adapted tocarry jointly the devices associated with the spindles of said textilemachines, a housing adapted to accommodate parts of the device, saidhousing comprising a stationary housing part connected to said part ofthe textile machine and a movable housing part connected to and movablewith respect to said stationary housing part out of and into the rangerequired for replacing the spindles.

3. A device as set forth in claim 2, said device further comprising afirst group of contact pieces, connecting means between one of saidfirst group of contact pieces and said movable part, circuits which inaddition to said first group of contact pieces include a source ofcurrent and said thread breakage indicating means, said circuitsincluding a second group of contact pieces, a first part of said secondgroup of contact pieces being carried by the movable housing part and asecond part of said second group of contact pieces being carried by thestationary housing part, said second group of contact pieces beingadapted to open and close said circuits in dependence on the position ofthe movable housing part.

4. In textile machines, such as spinning machines, twisters, or thelike, having rotary spindles, a device comprising, in combination athread eye member associated with one of said spindles, at least a partof said thread eye rember being movable and adapted to guide the thread,which is to be controlled as to breakage, relative to said spindle, anenergy storage means adapted to act on said movable part, said threadengaging said movable part and urging it during winding of the thread onthe spindle against the action of said energy storage means into alimiting position in which the thread tension and the counteraction ofthe energy storage means balance each other, thread breakage indicatingmeans, said thread eye member comprising a stationary part in additionto said movable part, said device further comprising contact pieces,connecting means between one of said contact pieces and said movablepart, circuits which in addition to said contact pieces include a sourceof current and said thread breakage indicating means, said partsconsisting of levers, said levers being arcuately formed at least in apart of their length, said arcs surrounding said thread in the form ofan eye, said movable lever being rotatable, a pivot carrying saidmovable lever, a bearing for said pivot, a housing adapted toaccommodate parts of the device, a chamber provided in said housingbeing adapted to receive the bearing for said pivot and said movablelever itself, a wall being disposed between said chamber and saidcontact piece, said wall having a bore, said bore being adapted toreceive said pivot.

5. A device as set forth in claim 4, a holder for said stationary lever,said wall having an additional bore adapted to receive said holder.

6. A device as set forth in claim 4, said housing having slotlikeapertures adapted to receive said movable and stationary levers, thehousing parts adjoining said apertures being enlarged in the form ofprojections, said projectionsbeing adapted to deflect dust from enteringthe slot-like apertures.

7. In textile machines such as spinning machines, twisters, or the like,having rotary spindles, a device cornprising, in combination a threadeye member associated with one of said spindles, at least a part of saidthread eye member being movable and adapted to guide the thread, whichis to be controlled as to breakage, relative to said spindle, an energystorage means adapted to act on said movable part, said thread engagingsaid movable part and urging it during winding of the thread on thespindle against the action of said energy storage means into a limitingposition in which the thread tension and the counteraction of the energystorage means balance each other, thread breakage indicating means, saidthread eye member comprising a stationary part in addition to saidmovable part, said parts consisting of movable and stationary levers,said levers being arcuately formed at least in a part of their length,said are surrounding said thread in the form of an eye, said movablelever being rotatable, a pivot carrying said lever, a bearing for saidpivot, a

housing adapted to accommodate parts of the device, a chamber providedin said housing being adapted to receive the bearing for said pivot andsaid movable lever itself, a slot extending through an outside boundarysurface of the housing into said chamber, opposing housing wallsdefining said chamber being formed With grooves, a flexible strip memberadapted to be inserted with its edges into said grooves and to be heldtherein, said strip memher being further adapted to provide a dust-tightseal for parts of the device disposed in said chamber towards theoutside and to expose them quickly when the strip is pulled out of thegrooves.

8. In textile machines such as spinning machines,

twisters, or the like, having rotary spindles, a device com-.

prising in combination a thread eye member associated With one of saidspindles, at least a part of said thread eye member being movable andadapted to guide the thread, which is to be controlled as to breakage,relative to said spindle, an energy storage means adapted to act on saidmovable part, said thread engaging said movable part and urging itduring winding of the thread on the spindle against the action of saidenergy storage means into a limiting position in which the threadtension and the counteraction of the energy storage means balance eachother, thread breakage indicating means, said thread eye membercomprising a stationary part in addition to said movable part, saidparts consisting of levers, said levers being arcuately formed at leastin a part of their length, said arcs surrounding said thread in the formof an eye, said movable lever being rotatable, a pivot carrying saidmovable lever, a bearing for said pivot, a housing adapted toaccommodate parts of the device, a chamber provided in said housingbeing adapted to receive the bearing for said pivot and said movablelever itself, a slot extending through an outside boundary surface ofthe housing into said chamber, opposing Walls defining said chamber, abridge connecting said opposed housing walls, said bridge beingconstructed as a support for the bearing part for the pivot of saidrotatable lever.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Turnerec. 18, 1951 2,904,872 Kingsbury Sept. 22, 1959

7. IN TEXTILE MACHINES SUCH AS SPINNING MACHINES, TWISTERS, OR THE LIKE,HAVING ROTARY SPINDLES, A DEVICE COM, PRISING, IN COMBINATION A THREADEYE MEMBER ASSOCIATED WITH ONE OF SAID SPINDLES, AT LEAST A PART OF SAIDTHREAD EYE MEMBER BEING MOVABLE AND ADAPTED TO GUIDE THE THREAD, WHICHIS TO BE CONTROLLED AS TO BREAKAGE, RELATIVE TO SAID SPINDLE, AN ENERGYSTORAGE MEANS ADAPTED TO ACT ON SAID MOVABLE PART, SAID THREAD ENGAGINGSAID MOVABLE PART AND URGING IT DURING WINDING OF THE THREAD ON THESPINDLE AGAINST THE ACTION OF SAID ENERGY STORAGE MEANS INTO A LIMITINGPOSITION IN WHICH THE THREAD TENSION AND THE COUNTERACTION OF THE ENERGYSTORAGE MEANS BALANCE EACH OTHER, THREAD BREAKAGE INDICATING MEANS, SAIDTHREAD EYE MEMBER COMPRISING A STATIONARY PART IN ADDITION TO SAIDMOVABLE PART, SAID PARTS CONSISTING OF MOVABLE AND STATIONARY LEVERS,SAID LEVERS BEING ARCUATELY FORMED AT LEAST IN A PART OF THEIR LENGTH,SAID ARC SURROUNDING SAID THREAD IN THE FORM OF AN EYE, SAID MOVABLELEVER BEING ROTATABLE, A PIVOT CARRYING SAID LEVER, A BEARING FOR SAIDPIVOT, A HOUSING ADAPTED TO ACCOMMODATE PARTS OF THE DEVICE, A CHAMBERPROVIDED IN SAID HOUSING BEING ADAPTED TO RECEIVE THE BEARING FOR SAIDPIVOT AND SAID MOVABLE LEVER ITSELF, A SLOT EXTENDING THROUGH AN OUTSIDEBOUNDARY SURFACE OF THE HOUSING INTO SAID CHAMBER, OPPOSING HOUSINGWALLS DEFINING SAID CHAMBER BEING FORMED WITH GROOVES, A FLEXIBLE STRIPMEMBER ADAPTED TO BE INSERTED WITH ITS EDGES INTO SAID GROOVES AND TO BEHELD THEREIN, SAID STRIP MEMBER BEING FURTHER ADAPTED TO PROVIDE ADUST-TIGHT SEAL FOR PARTS OF THE DEVICE DISPOSED IN SAID CHAMBER TOWARDSTHE OUTSIDE AND TO EXPOSE THEM QUICKLY WHEN THE STRIP IS PULLED OUT OFTHE GROOVES.